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The Future is Now: Mass Effect 2 Takes 14th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards' Game of the YearLAS VEGAS, Feb. 11, 2011 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Red Dead Redemption Rides Off into the Sunset with Five IAAs, Angry Birds Snags Casual Game of the Year The 14th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards took place this evening, and as usual there were a number of stellar nominees this year. With blockbuster titles such as Mass Effect 2, Call of Duty: Black Ops, God of War III and Angry Birds, there was speculation flying from day one as to which would shine the brightest. After a night of laughs, revelry and humble acceptances there was one that stood out amongst the rest - BioWare's Mass Effect 2 took the spotlight as Game of the Year. Continuing the epic tale set forth in Mass Effect, the sequel brought storytelling, presentation and gameplay of an action-RPG to new heights. Signaling a true sign of the times, the smash-hit Angry Birds took home rights to Casual Game of the Year. The break-out mobile and casual title has been on fire since it was released and has flown to new heights, proving that mobile and casual titles are a key component to the industry. In addition, Red Dead Redemption caused quite a scene as well, mainly due to the horses, whiskey and stray bullets. Rockstar Games' Red Dead Redemption left the competition in the dust last night, storming the stage and making off with a total of five awards. Hosted by comedian, actor and proud game enthusiast, Jay Mohr, at the Red Rock Resort in Las Vegas, industry luminaries, development personalities and talent from around the world came together to celebrate, share and comment on the status of the industry and where they see it going in 2011 and beyond. Additionally, for those who may have missed the live same-day webcast of the IAAs in its entirety on G4tv.com/DICE2011, this year's IAAs will be also be broadcasted on G4 with a one-hour special on Saturday, February 12th at 4pm ET / PT. The 14th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards celebrates the games of great creative minds, but more importantly, the people behind these projects. Bing Gordon was named the 5th Lifetime Achievement recipient for his incredible contributions during his 28 year career. Dr. Ray Muzyka and Dr. Greg Zeschuk (a.k.a. "The Doctors") were inducted into the Hall of Fame for their incredible work with BioWare and Bill Budge was named the 2nd annual AIAS Pioneer Award recipient for his critical work in founding and continuing to grow our industry. "The Interactive Achievement Awards is the time for the games industry to gather and honor the creativity and craft that goes into game making," said Martin Rae, president, Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences. "This year's Award winning games demonstrate the depth of talent, passion and innovation that distinguishes this compelling medium." These awards, decided by a peer-based voting system, are given to the talented individuals and development teams that have added to, shaped and pushed the limits of what was once thought to be the boundaries of this multi-billion dollar worldwide electronic entertainment industry. The winners in each category are as follows: Game of the Year Mass Effect 2 Publisher: Electronic Arts Developer: BioWare Creative Director: Casey Hudson Outstanding Achievement in Game Direction Red Dead Redemption Publisher: Rockstar Games Developer: Rockstar San Diego Lead Designer: Christian Cantamessa Casual Game of the Year Angry Birds Publisher: Chillingo Developer: Rovio Executive Producers: Niklas Hed, Mikael Hed Producer: Harro Gronberg Lead Designers: Jaakko Iisalo, Markus Tuppurainen Portable Game of the Year God of War: Ghost of Sparta Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment America Developer: Ready at Dawn/SCE Santa Monica Studio Producer: Marc Turndorf Creative Director: Ru Weerasuriya Game Director: Dana Jan Fighting Game of the Year Super Street Fighter IV Publisher: Capcom Developer: Capcom/Dimps Producer: Yoshinori Ono Creative Director: Daisuke Aoki Game Director: Takashi Tsukamoto Role-Playing/Massively Multiplayer Game of the Year Mass Effect 2 Publisher: Electronic Arts Developer: BioWare Creative Director: Casey Hudson Sports Game of the Year FIFA Soccer 11 Publisher: Electronic Arts Developer: EA Canada Producer: David Rutter Creative Director: Gary Peterson Racing Game of the Year Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit Publisher: Electronic Arts Developer: Criterion Executive Producer: Fiona Sperry Creative Director: Craig Sullivan Adventure Game of the Year LIMBO Publisher: Playdead Developer: Playdead Producers: Dino Patti, Mads Wibroe Creative Director: Arnt Jensen Game Director: Arnt Jensen Social Networking Game of the Year CityVille Publisher: Zynga Developer: Zynga Producers: David Gray, Alex Le Creative Director: Sean Kelly Game Director: Mark Skaggs Strategy/Simulation Game of the Year StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty Publisher: Blizzard Entertainment Developer: Blizzard Entertainment Production Director: Chris Sigaty Senior Art Director: Sam Didier Game Director: Dustin Browder Action Game of the Year Red Dead Redemption Publisher: Rockstar Games Developer: Rockstar San Diego Producers: Steve Martin, David Kunkler Lead Designer: Christian Cantamessa Family Game of the Year Dance Central Publisher: Microsoft Game Studios/MTV Games Developer: Harmonix Music Systems Producer: Naoko Takamoto Game Director: Kasson Crooker Outstanding Innovation in Gaming Heavy Rain Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment America Developer: Quantic Dream Producer: Guillaume de Fondaumiere Creative Director: David Cage Game Director: David Cage Outstanding Achievement in Animation God of War III Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment America Developer: SCE Santa Monica Studio Lead Animator: Bruno Velazquez Outstanding Achievement in Visual Engineering Heavy Rain Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment America Developer: Quantic Dream Technology Director: Damien Castelltort Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction Red Dead Redemption Publisher: Rockstar Games Developer: Rockstar San Diego Art Director: Daren Bader Outstanding Achievement in Story Mass Effect 2 Publisher: Electronic Arts Developer: BioWare Writers: Mac Walters, Drew Karpyshyn Outstanding Character Performance Red Dead Redemption - John Marston Publisher: Rockstar Games Developer: Rockstar San Diego Writers: Christian Cantamessa, Dan Houser, Michael Unsworth Voice Actor: Rob Wiethoff Outstanding Achievement in Soundtrack Rock Band 3 Publisher: MTV Games Developer: Harmonix Music Systems Music Supervisor: Eric Brosius Outstanding Achievement in Sound Design LIMBO Publisher: Playdead Developer: Playdead Sound Design/Audio Lead: Martin Stig Andersen Outstanding Achievement in Online Game Play StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty Publisher: Blizzard Entertainment Developer: Blizzard Entertainment Executive VP Game Design: Rob Pardo Project Director Battle.net: Greg Canessa Battle.net Designer: Alex Sun Technical Director Battle.net: Matthew Versluys Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Composition Heavy Rain Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment America Developer: Quantic Dream Composer: Norman Corbeil Outstanding Achievement in Game Play Engineering Red Dead Redemption Publisher: Rockstar Games Developer: Rockstar San Diego Lead Designer: Christian Cantamessa Since 1996, the Interactive Achievement Awards have recognized outstanding games, individuals and development teams that have contributed to the advancement of the multi-billion dollar worldwide entertainment software industry. More than 160 titles were played and evaluated by members of the Academy's Peer Panels. The panels are comprised of the game industry's most experienced and talented men and women. Each panel is responsible for evaluating one award category. Interactive Achievement Award recipients are determined by a vote of qualified Academy and IGDA members. Award voting is confidential, conducted online and supervised and certified by VoteNet Solutions, Inc. The integrity of the system, coupled with a broad-based voting population of AIAS members, makes the Interactive Achievement Awards the most credible, respected and recognized awards for interactive entertainment software. About the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences (AIAS) was founded in 1996 as a not-for-profit organization dedicated to the advancement and recognition of the interactive arts. The Academy's mission is to promote and advance common interests in the worldwide interactive entertainment community; recognize outstanding achievements in the interactive arts and sciences; and conduct an annual awards show (Interactive Achievement Awards) to enhance awareness of the interactive art form. The Academy also strives to provide a voice for individuals in the interactive entertainment community. In 2002 the Academy created the D.I.C.E. (Design, Innovate, Communicate, Entertain) Summit, a once yearly conference dedicated to exploring approaches to the creative process and artistic expression as they uniquely apply to the development of interactive entertainment. The Academy has over 20,000 members, with the board comprised of senior executives from the major videogame companies including BioWare/Pandemic, Electronic Arts, Microsoft, Nintendo, Sony and Ubisoft. More information on AIAS and the D.I.C.E. Summit can be found at http://www.interactive.org and http://www.dicesummit.org. SOURCE Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences |